Sororicide
by Jadda T. Cradda
Summary: Recently, Lightning's been having some odd urges, which involve her sister...  Rating may change.
1. The First Thought

She was shaking all over as she stood in the moonlight. Only half of her body was visible in the light that came through the window, the shadow from the window's frame making a cross like tattoo on her arm, albeit stretched. Her heartbeat thudded against her chest, quick with panic, so hard that she could feel it all throughout her body. And then, it one quick instant, she went across the room, stopping herself in front of her sister's bed.

Serah laid there, curled up in her red blanket and undisturbed by her older sister's quick movement. She could hear her sister's gentle breaths escaping from her nostrils. It made her sad. So sad. Serah turned over in her sleep, her back now facing Lightning.

Lightning had no idea why she had these urges, or when they started, all she knew was that she had them, and she needed to get rid of them, before something happened. Her lips quivered, and she opened her mouth slightly, letting out a shaky breath. She raised her hand up, gripping something. She looked at her reflection in the object, letting a tear slide down her cheek.

For a moment, she was disoriented, and she stepped back slightly to keep from falling over. She blinked her eyes, and that was all it took for her to snap back into herself. She looked at the object again, and let out a scared gasp as she released her grip on it. The object hit the wooden floor with a loud clang, a clang that made her sick to her stomach.

Her eyes started to become blurry from tears flooding into her eyes. Her jaw shook, and she backed away from the bed. She cupped her hands over her mouth, and let out a sad moan. She blinked her eyes, making two tears slide down her cheeks, a tear for each eye. Her sister started to stir in her sleep at that point, so, in a panic, she ran out of the room, letting it all out when she hit the hallway.

When she reached her room, she slammed the door shut, and then fell on her bed. Her tears were drowned out by bed, which she had buried her face into. She reached over, pulled her notebook off of the stand, and then flipped it open to a page that had a list of numbers. She placed her index finger on the line, and slowly moved it down the lines, reading each name or business as her finger crossed them, until she reached a number that had the label "Psychiatrist."


	2. A Visit from the Psychiatrist

Lightning sat at he kitchen table with her psychiatrist, who sat across from her. She had asked her to come over, since Serah wasn't home, and she wouldn't be for several hours. Her psychiatrist was exactly like one would predict a psychiatrist to look like, a woman in a suit, with a notepad she was constantly writing in.

"I don't know why these started." she said, her voice as calm as she could get it, though it was clear she was trying to keep herself from shaking.

"Well," her psychiatrist started, scanning over her notes. "Has Serah ever done anything to you? Maybe something that would make you jealous, or angry?" Lightning shook her head in response. Serah was an angel if Lightning had ever met one. The girl couldn't hurt anyone, even if she wanted to. Lightning had no reason to be jealous of her baby sister, either, if anything, Serah would be jealous of Lightning.

"No." Lightning responded. "Nothing at all, that's why I'm confused over this whole thing."

"You did say that Serah was the younger one, correct?" the woman asked, scanning her notes for the answer.

"Y-yes." she said, with an unintentional stutter, brought on from the shaking.

"Well, maybe when you were a child, you were used to all of the attention. And then Serah came along, and your parents entire focus was fixed on her?" Lightning shook her head.

"No. Mom paid attention to both of us equally, she didn't pay attention to one more than the other." the psychiatrist resumed writing on the pad, mumbling something to herself.

"What about your father?" she asked. Lightning swallowed a lump in her throat. She should have seen that question coming, as soon as the subject of their parents came up. She took in a big breathe of air, and then exhaled is as shakily as she had taken it in.

"He died before Serah was born." she said, looking down at the tiled floor. "Car wreck." she added, lying. Her father had actually been killed in a fight with the Guardian Corps, just two months before Serah was born.

"So, it was just you, your sister, and your mother?"

"M-hm." she said, nodding.

"Did Serah do anything that may have made you have a sort of hatred for her? When you were kids, I mean." Again, Lightning shook her head. Nothing serious had ever happened between them. Sure, Serah had bothered her, but all little sibling did that.

"Maybe your mother did something, and your taking it out on Serah?"

No answer came from Lightning. They loved their mother to death, but it seemed that she didn't show any love back. She was always depressed, and she hardly ever talked to them. But no, she had never done anything to hurt Lightning.

She shook her head. "Maybe I'm just a psychopath." Lightning said, though she had meant to think it to herself. Her psychiatrist smiled, and shook her head as she continued to write her notes.

"I highly doubt that." she said. "If you were psychotic, you would have already tried to seriously hurt or murder your sister." Lightning's eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open.

"I…." she was speechless. She really needed help. She needed to be locked up in an insane asylum, as far away from Serah as possible.

"Ms. Farron?" the woman said.

"I have. Tried to hurt her, I mean…. last night."

"What happened to her?"

"Nothing… I just stood over her for awhile, with a knife."

"Ms. Farron, that doesn't mean your-" but before the Psychiatrist could finish her door, the door opened, to reveal Serah. Lightning leapt up from her chair, and backed away, her heart racing.

"What's going on?" the younger Farron asked.

"Stay away from me, Serah!" Lightning exclaimed. She ran to her room, and slammed the door shut behind her, locking it in place with the chain. She jumped onto her bed, and started to cry, trying in vain to keep her sister from hearing it. She heard a knock on her door, followed by an innocent voice, but she couldn't tell what it said.

But it continued to ask questions. Oh, how Lightning wished the voice would just go away, and leave her alone. How she wished it would cease to annoy her. How she wished…..

It would die.


	3. Intoxicating Scent

The wall had been decorated with red, and the whole room smelled of a sickening copper scent. She was disoriented, to the point she could hardly even stand. Her head moved from side to side, looking all around at the spinning room, until her eyes fixed on a form laying on the ground. She slowly approached the form, barely able to walk from the intoxicating scent.

When she was just mere inches away from the form, she felt a wetness through her socks. The darkness prevented her from seeing anything, but, odds are, she didn't want to see what it was. But curiosity is a funny thing. So, she slowly fell to her knees, and then turned the figure over. She couldn't see what it was, yet, but in a few short moments, she would be able to.

But until that moment, she wanted to find out what exactly she was holding. She moved her hands over the form, feeling soft silk under her fingers. But suddenly, the softness was gone, replaced by a wet feeling like what was on her knees and feet. She explored around the wetness, feeling skin and some of the silk, now wet with the liquid.

But the moving stopped, when her finger glided over a point in the skin that separated slightly. But she resumed moving, feeling several more spots like that, until the fingertip of her index finger sank down into one of the different feeling areas.

She raised her hand up to move a few strands of hair back, smelling the intoxicating copper as her hand went by her face. When she looked down at the form a second time, she almost screamed. Laying there in her arms, was her little sister, who had several cuts around her stomach area, which was covered in a sticky substance.

"Serah!" she cried. And then it all came back to her. Serah had been standing over her bed, getting ready for bedtime. She had the lamp turned on, which provided a small source of light. Lightning had been standing in the doorway, watching her sister. But then, something happened. She shook all over, and then shot across the room. Her sister only had time to turn around and see her assailant.

She pushed her up against the wall, and then threw her down onto the bed. "Lightning, what are you-" she was cut off by Lightning grabbing her neck, and applying pressure to the front with her thumbs. Serah was scared, that woman wasn't her sister, that look in her eyes was terrifying!

She grabbed her by the wrists, and attempted to pull her hands off of her neck, but as soon as she tried, she lifted Serah off of the bed, and swung around, knocking the lamp over. Then, she pushed Serah down, and grabbed one of the shards of glass that had scattered across the floor. As soon as Serah stood up, Lightning plunged the makeshift knife into Serah's gut, and then proceeded to slash away at the area around where she had first been stabbed, her screams falling upon ears that were deaf from adrenaline.

When Lightning was done stabbing her sister, she threw her against the wall, and then grabbed the back of her head. She proceeded to slam her head into the wall, and then threw her lifeless body to the ground. But then, her shakiness left, and she passed out.

She lifted her little sister up as she stood, and then raced out the doorway, fixing it to where she could get her sister through without bumping her head. Then, she raced out of the house, and gently laid her sister down in the backseat. The moonlight exposed her skin, which had become pale from blood loss. She got upfront, started the car, and then sped off to the hospital.


	4. Serah is Going to be Fine

Lightning couldn't believe what she had done. She had almost killed the closest thing she had to a baby. She had tried to kill her little sister, the one that she promised her parents she would take care of. She had been sitting in the waiting room, looking down at the ground the whole time. She was still covered in her sister's blood, making her quite an odd side.

People kept looking over at her, like they could see what she did. It was like they were all looking at her like she was a piece of dirt. _Yeah, we know what you did, you psychotic bitch!_ It made her sick to her stomach.

Thankfully, the copper scent had left a long time ago, around the time she got out to the car. Otherwise, she would have had to leave, before she threw up. But that wasn't the case.

When the doctor finally came out, she leapt up from her seat, and ran over to him. "Where is she? Is she alright? What happened!" she asked, interrogatively.

"Ms. Farron, please, calm down." he said. "Serah is going to be fine." he explained calmly. "She has a few bruises on her head, and she had a gash in her forehead. We had to give her stitches."

"But what about her stomach?" she asked. She was breathing hard from worry, and guilt.

"We had to give her stitches in several of the cuts, but some of them weren't as deep. She'll probably just have a few scars from those."

She was relieved. She hadn't killed her baby sister after all. She stopped breathing hard, free from worry.

"Can I see her?" she asked. The doctor nodded, and then pointed down the hall.

"She's just down the hall. She's resting up, though."

"I just want to _see _her." Lightning said. The doctor nodded his head, and then walked away. Lightning went down the hall until she reached her sister's room, where she walked in, and saw her sleeping like a little angel. The sight made her smile, as she got even closer to the bed. When she finally got as close as she could, she saw where Serah had to get her stitches, on the right side of her head.

She sat down, and started to rub the top part of her hand over her sister's cheek. She loved her so much, and didn't want to hurt her. But something just came over her at that moment.

Speaking of which…..

Her hand started to shake again, and her vision got blurry slightly. She leapt up from the bed, and backed away from her sister. "Serah." she said, as tears started to race down her cheeks. Then, she spun around, and ran out the door.


	5. To Protect My Baby

This was one of her first nights alone, without Serah, which was good. It gave her time to think of ways she could get rid of those urges, satisfy them. After sitting at home for several hours, she thought of a way she could get rid of the urge. She didn't want to do this, but if it would keep her from hurting her sister further, it had to be done.

She decided that she was going to murder somebody. But who? It had to be somebody she knew, someone close to her, so no one would suspect her. She couldn't kill Hope, because if she did that, she would probably have to kill his father too, and that could get messy. Sazh was off limits, too, because he had a son to take care of.

But then, it struck her like a brick to the face.

**Snow**

It was perfect. He was her sister's ex boyfriend, and she had never liked him in the first place, but people _thought _she did. So, it would work out perfectly. She'd get rid of someone she despised, and she would get rid of the urges she desperately needed to get rid of. Of course, she needed to do it carefully, not leave any evidence behind.

She first decided to leave her transport behind, so nobody could say they saw her driving away. She carefully walked in the shadows, to Snow's apartment. She brought the knife Serah had got her for her worst birthday ever. When she finally reached his apartment, she went up to Snow's room, and knocked on his door. It was early in the morning, so he was probably up, drinking in front of the TV.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Snow. He didn't have his shirt, coat, or beanie on, and it looked as if his pants had been put on in a rush. He was displeased at seeing her, so he started to close the door, but she stopped him.

"Snow, stop!" she said. He opened the door back up, and then leaned on the doorway.

"What?" he asked. "Look," he said, as he started to move his fingers in a way that mimicked sign language. "Your sister broke up with me. She didn't want to see me anymore." he spoke simply, as if to a child. Boy, did it piss her off!

But she had to hide that angry emotion, and use it for later. "So, if you came over here to kick my ass for breaking up with her, well, go ahead. And I'll call the Guardian Corps and tell them that one of their sergeants just assaulted a civilian."

"I'm not here for that." she said. Clearly she couldn't just walk in. Ever since Serah dumped him, he had hated to see the two out in public, and even bragged to his friends about 'all he got' from Serah(Which in reality, was nothing. But the guys didn't need to know that).

"What are you here for then?" he asked. She had to think quickly. She reached her hands forward, and placed them on his shoulders.

"For you." she lied. He gave her a confused look. God, he was so stupid. How smart does someone have to be to know somebody is coming onto him. Clearly, she was going to have to make it more obvious. She went forward, and pressed her lips against his, making him realize what she meant. The two backed away from the doorway, moving until Snow fell down on a chair. She slid her arms around him, as they continued to kiss.

It wasn't that she was enjoying any of it, she just wanted to get him at the right moment. She got up on the chair with him, placing her knees on either side of his legs. She separated their lips, and undid the belt to her jacket, and threw it to the side, allowing the jacket to spread open, and reveal her whole abdomen.

Snow had never really thought of Lightning like that. But, it was pretty hard to refuse a woman when she was undressing right on top of you. That, and this could make up for what he never got with Serah.

She slowly slid the jacket down her shoulders, revealing her half sweater.

"Do you like what you see, Snow?" she asked.

"Yes." he responded, unable to pry his eyes off of the piercing in her navel. He reached his hands out, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then, he pulled her in closer, to kiss her again. As he did this, her hand slowly traveled down to the pouch that was tied around her thigh. She opened it as quietly as possible, and then reached in for her knife. Then, he let her go, and she raised up.

His eyes went straight to her chest, focusing on the zipper in the middle of her shirt. He reached his hand up, and grabbed her zipper, then he slowly moved it downward.

But before he could get it even halfway undone, Lightning pulled her knife out of the pouch, and plunged it into Snow's chest. Her face changed to a psychotic expression, as she dug the knife in deeper, moving it around slightly. His face was stuck in a look of shock.

But he wasn't dead yet!

So, she pulled the knife out, and then plunged it into his stomach. She pulled it out, and then slammed the blade back into him, and then again, and again, until his abs were covered in his blood. But before she could do anything else, Snow's adrenaline pumped up, and he pushed the girl off of him. He got up off of the chair, and then ran past her.

But she was just as quick as him. She leapt up off of the ground, and tackled Snow to the ground from behind.

"Lightning, please!" he shouted, as she turned him over. His eyes were red from the crying he had just started to do. That was how scared he was. "I'm sorry. I know you hate me, but please!" he cried. "I'll do anything you want. I'll tell the guys the truth, I'll stop saying I slept with Serah, but please." he said, sobbing. "Just don't kill me."

Lightning laughed. "Snow." she started. "This has nothing to do with what you've said, or my hatred for you." she explained. "It's about protecting my baby." and with that, she reached down and placed the knife up against the crying boy's throat. She dug the blade deep into his throat, and then slowly moved it across his neck.

His blood sprayed up at her, decorating her pale face with several red dots. He made a sound as if he was gagging. When the knife reached the end of his throat, she raised the blade up, and then brought it back down near where she had cut. More of his blood sprayed up at her, covering her wrist as she dug around his neck. She raised it up again, and stabbed it at the base of his neck, causing more blood to spray up, this time hitting her neck and chest.

That was when he died. He let out a gargling noise, and then his head went to the side, allowing blood to escape from his mouth and form a puddle next to his lips. She got up off of him, feeling a wet, stickiness on the sides of her thighs. She lifted her skirt up slightly, and saw that, just below the legs of her shorts, she had blood covering her thigh.

She dropped the skirt, and then went over, and picked up her jacket and belt. It was so exhilarating, so exciting! So much adrenaline pumping through her body, so much blood covered her body. She was sure that any urges she had were now gone, at least for now. Once she had her clothes put back on, she walked out of the room, leaving Snow's corpse lying on the floor.

She was in such a rush, that she forgot her knife, which was still lodged in Snow's throat.


	6. Excitement Replaced with Panic

When Lightning got home, she made sure to open the door with the hand that wasn't covered in Snow's blood. She slammed the door shut behind her, and then ran into the laundry room as if someone was chasing after her. She took off most of her clothes, and threw them into the washing machine. Then, she ran into the bathroom, stepped into the shower without bothering to strip off the remainder of her clothes, and turned the water on.

Despite the fact that she had killed Snow at least a half an hour ago, she still felt the adrenaline pumping through her body. But, unlike when she hurt Serah, she felt no sickness in her stomach, nor did she smell an intoxicating copper scent that made her sick.

But, the copper from Snow was intoxicating in a different way. Rather than pushing her into a sickly drunken state, it pushed her into a state of excitement. She felt happy, like she could take on anything in the world. But, she just hoped that her urges to hurt her baby sister were gone. She figured she would go see her in the morning.

She turned the water off, and then stepped out. The pouch that held her knife was one of the few things she had kept on, mostly so she could clean her blade after she had cleaned herself, without risk of staining the rest of her clothes. She turned the faucet on, and then opened the pouch and reached in for her knife.

But she found nothing. The adrenaline burst out of her, replaced with panic.

"No." she said to herself, moving her hand around the pouch in vain. "No!" she exclaimed. What if she had dropped the blade on the way over? Or worst… What if she dropped it at Snow's place? She removed her hand from the pouch, and then reached for the knob. She turned the faucet off, and then ran into her room, put on some clothes without bothering to dry herself, and then went out the door.

The drive over to Snow's apartment seemed like it lasted for hours, but in reality was over within a few minutes. So much went through her mind. She had killed Snow, so fucking what? Serah was still going to be without someone in her life to protect her. Lighting would be thrown in prison, and her sister would be hurt by the world. She'd still failed in protecting her baby.

When she reached the apartment, her heart skipped a beat. The Guardian Corps had already arrived.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed, slamming her first into the wheel. "No!" she exclaimed, tears slipping out of her eyes. "No, no, no, no!" she cried. She was going to be taken away. She could already see what was going to happen. The Guardian Corps, people she worked with, were going to drag her away from her little sister as she cried for her. Cried for the person that had tried to kill her.

She raised up off of the wheel, and then turned her vehicle around. She might as well go see her sister while she still can, without bars in her way, at least. Or maybe at all. For murder, they might just shoot her and get it done with. But she had to see her sister one last time. To see those sweet little eyes, to hear that innocent voice, to hold her in her arms…..

To see if her urges had left.


	7. Failure

Lightning walked into her sister's room in the hospital. Serah was covered up in the white blanket the hospital had placed on her bed, turned to where her back was facing the door. She closed the door, and walked over to her sister.

"Serah." she said when she got close enough. Her voice was shaky. Her sister stayed in the same position. "Serah." she repeated, louder, making her shakiness more evident. Serah turned over and looked at her sister, smiling when she saw her. If only she knew what Lightning had done. Lightning pulled up one of the chairs, and sat down, her eyes locked on her sister the whole time.

"What's the matter?" her sister asked, turning over to face her. She noticed that her eyes were red, and her cheeks had dried tear trails on them.

"Nothing, Serah." she said. Lightning grabbed Serah's hand, and held it tightly. "I just wanted to come see you."

"But your crying." she said. Lightning wiped at her eyes with her free hand.

"It's nothing." she said. Lightning was both happy and sad at that moment. Happy that her plan had worked. Her urges to harm her sister were gone, for the moment. But sad, for it had all been in vain. "Listen, Serah." she started. Her throat was closing on her, as she felt her eyes watering up again. "I love you. And I'd never hurt you, not for anything in the world." she lied. Who was she kidding? She was the reason Serah had ended up in here in the first place.

"Claire, you're scaring me." Serah said. Lightning couldn't take it any longer. She had to get this over with. She pulled her sister close, and caught her in a close embrace.

"Serah, I love you." she said, letting her tears flow out. "So much."

"Claire, what's-"

"Nothing!" she exclaimed. The outburst shocked both of them. Serah had just asked a question, she was just concerned for her sister, and Lightning had yelled at her for it. Her grip on Serah's shoulder had tightened.

"Claire, your hurting me." she said. Her nails dug deep into the flesh of her shoulder, breaking skin through the fabric. Lightning started to shake, but not from tears.

"_No!"_ she thought to herself. _"That was supposed to save her. No!" _she let go of her sister, and then pushed her away.

"No!" she shouted. She was failing. She dragged her nails down her face as the tears raced down her cheeks. Her little sister looked at her, going crazy in the middle of the room. She was afraid of her, now. "It didn't work!" she cried. She sank down to her knees, and then covered her face with her hands. She heard footsteps approaching her, so she shot up and backed away. Serah was standing there by the bed, fear and concern in her eyes.

"Claire, I-" she started as she approached her sister. Lightning backed away.

"Serah, stay away from me!" Lightning exclaimed. "Just keep away from me!" she shouted, as she backed toward the door.

"But-"

"No buts!" Lightning shouted. She opened the door, and ran out of the hospital. When she got into the car, she slammed her head down onto the side of the wheel, and let herself cry. It seemed like nothing could save her baby sister. Nothing could ever go back to normal. Killing Snow had only had a very temporary effect on her state of mind.

But then, she got an idea. One that would curve her urges, and one that would keep her from going away forever. She started the car up, and then drove away from the hospital, to her home.


	8. Lightning's Memories, Part One

A pink haired woman sat before her three year old daughter. "Honey, please." she said to her daughter. "Say something. Anything, I don't care what." she said. Her baby was a little over three years old, and she had yet to speak. It was worrying her.

Meanwhile, her first born daughter was sitting over in the corner, drawing a picture for her. The paper she was drawing on was covered in erase marks and dark blotches. She wanted this picture to be perfect for her "mommy". Recently, the baby had been getting all of the attention from their mother, so she was going to get her mother's attention, if only for a little bit.

She laid her pencil down, and then picked the paper up, smiling at her creation. She leapt off of the chair she had been sitting on, and then ran over to her mother.

"Mommy!" she said as she ran toward her mother, who was still trying to get the three year old to talk. "Look what I drew for you!" she exclaimed. But before she even reached her mother, she gave her that same reply she had given her for almost every day for the past three years.

"Not now, Claire."

The comment had stopped the little girl dead in her tracks. "But, mommy-"

"I'm busy with the baby." she said. Claire frowned, and then fell down on the ground, staring blankly at her mother and her sister. She hated that little brat, that little thief, that little stupid baby! "Serry, please say something!" she cried. Her eyes were watering. She looked her daughter in the eyes, tears finally starting to slide out.

Her mother loved her very much, but she worried about her even more. What if she had some sort of mental condition, or what if she was unable to speak? It would be even harder to raise her. "Serah." she said. "Say Serah." she ordered. Serah looked at her mother for a few moments of silent, and then pointed at herself.

She sighed. "At least you know who you are. That's something, I suppose." she stood up from the floor, and then walked out of the room, leaving her two daughters alone with each other. Serah scanned the room, looking for something to do, for something to discover.

And that's when her eyes landed on her older sister, sitting on the floor.

She stood up from the floor as best as she could, and then toddled over to her sister. When she reached her, she stood for a few moments, waiting for her sister to acknowledge her presence. When she did finally look at her, her eyes were filled with hatred.

"What do you want!" she questioned. "You stupid baby!" she added on, in an attempt to hurt the little one's feelings. But she just stood there, staring at her. "Dumb baby." Claire said. But then, Serah fell forward, and wrapped her arms around her sister as best as she could.

"Claire." she said, perfectly in her first attempt. "Claire." she repeated.

"Get off of me!" Claire exclaimed, trying to push Serah off of her. But she had a strong grip on her sister.

"Claire." she said for the third time. Their mother walked into the room, holding a blue blanket in her hand.

"Alright, girls it's time to-"

"Claire." Serah shouted, still keeping her arms wrapped around Claire. Her mother stood in the doorway, a smile spreading across her face. "Claire." she said again.

"Oh my God!" she happily exclaimed. She ran over to Serah, and picked her up. "I knew you could talk, I just knew it!"

"Claire." she said again, holding her hand out to her sister. She kissed Serah on the side of her head, and then held her close. Claire stood up, and held the piece of paper up to her mother.

"Mommy, look what I drew for you!"

"Not now, sweetie." she said. "Oh, I'm so proud of you." she said to Serah. Then, she carried the baby into it's bedroom, forgetting almost entirely that she had another child. Claire fell down again and then started to sob, which eventually turned into all out crying.


	9. Lightning's Memories, Part Two

"Open wide, sweetie." the woman said, holding a spoon full of medicine in her hand. "I know medicine doesn't take good, but you have to take it if you want to get better." she explained to Serah, who was sitting in her high chair. Serah shook her head.

"No." she responded. "No." she said again. The spoon inched toward her.

"C'mon." she said desperately. "Claire can take her medicine like a big girl." she added, as motivation for her child. "Aren't you a big girl?"

"M-Mh." she responded.

"Please, for your mommy?" she said. Serah shook her head. "How about for your big sister Claire?" she said. Serah looked at her mother sadly. She opened her mouth slightly, and her mother inserted the spoon in between her lips. A disgusted look came across Serah's face as the bitterness of the medicine spread throughout her mouth.

But she had to take the medicine. For her sister.

Unfortunately, her mouth had a different idea. She spit the medicine out, causing a mixture of the liquid and her saliva to cover her mother's chest region.

"Serah!" she cried. She wiped the liquid off of her chest with her free hand, and then wiped what had got on her hand onto a nearby washcloth. "Well, I guess you can take the medicine later, Serry." she laid the spoon down on the table, and then walked toward the doorway. "I'll be right back, honey. I just have to go check on Claire right now, and give her some medicine."

"Claire." Serah said. A faint smile appeared on her mother's face. Since she had learned to talk a little over four months ago, she had been learning new words. But that was one of the few ones that she pronounced clearly.

At the same time, over those four months, Serah had become obsessed with her sister. If she walked into the room, Serah would get up, and walk over to Claire as best and as quick as she could. When she reached her, she'd wrap her arms around her, and not let go until she either fell asleep, Claire pushed her off, or her mother pulled her off of her, all the while repeating her sister's name.

"Yes, sweetie, your big sister, Claire."

"Claire." Serah repeated, upon hearing her sister's name. It was amazing, really. She hadn't learned to say any variation of "mother", yet she had learned to say her sister's name, and she wouldn't stop saying it. Her mother's smile grew wider, and then she disappeared down the hall.

A few moments later, her mother walked in, with Serah's favorite person walking behind her in pink pajamas, dragging a teddy bear behind her. "Claire!" she exclaimed, reaching for her sister. Claire looked at her sister angrily, and then turned her head. "Claire!" she repeated. But Claire just ignored her, and continued following her mother.

Her mother picked up the spoon she had laid on the table, and then washed it off at the sink. After she had washed it off, she opened the cabinet, and took the bottle of medicine out. Then, she poured a little bit of the thick liquid into the spoon, and then lowered herself down to where she was almost eye level with Claire.

"Open wide." she said. With a look of reluctance, Claire opened her mouth, and allowed her mother to insert the spoon in her mouth. A disgusted look came over Claire's face, as she swallowed the liquid. "Good girl." her mother said. "Go back to bed, sweetie." she said as she stood up. Claire walked toward the hall she had appeared from.

"Claire!" Serah said again. Claire stopped, and looked at her sister, the angry look still in her eyes. "Claire!" she repeated, reaching out to her sister. Claire's grip on the teddy bear increased, and then, in one quick instance, she flung her teddy bear at her sister. The cloth bear smacked Serah right in the face, and then fell onto the tray, where it bounced off and hit the floor.

"Clarice Farron!" her mother shouted. Claire looked over at her mother, who had just finished putting the medicine away. She walked over to her daughter and grabbed her by the wrist, and then smacked her on her bottom, causing the little girl let out a cry of pain. "No! You do not throw things at your baby sister!" she shouted, as she hit her again.

"No!" Serah shouted, moving up and down on her high chair. "No! Claire! No!" she shouted. "No!"

"I hate you!" Claire shouted to her sister. "I wish you were never born!" she said through the tears forming in her eyes. "I hope you die!" she shouted, as she started to run around, in an attempt to get her mother to let go of her.

"Claire, stop it!" her mother shouted.

"No, Claire, no!" Serah repeated.

"Claire, stop it!" her mother shouted, as she smacked her hand at Claire, accidentally hitting her lower back instead. "Claire Farron, you stop acting up right now!"

"No!" she cried. "I hate her!" she shouted, pointing at Serah. "I hate her!"

"Claire. No, no, no!" Serah shouted.

"Come on, Claire." she ordered, pulling her daughter toward the hallway. Claire fell down, purposely. "Get up." she ordered. "Now." but Claire just laid there, still crying. Her mother sighed, and then she lowered down and picked Claire up in her arms. "Come on." she said, as she carried her toward the hallway.

"Claire!" Serah shouted. "No!"

"I hate you, Serah!" Claire shouted, just as she and her mother entered the hall. "I hate you!" she shouted. A few moments later, a door was heard being slammed shut, and then their mother walked back into the room.

"Claire." Serah said. Her mother sighed, and then she walked over to her. She lowered down, and then placed her elbows on the tray."Say mommy." she said.

"Claire."

"No, Mom-ee." she said, slowly pronouncing it for her daughter. "Mommy."

"No." she responded, imitating her mother by drawing out the n sound. "Claire."

"Say Serah."

"Swah." she responded. "Swah." she attempted, again. "Swah. Swah…."

"Ser-uh."

"Swah, Swah, Swah!" she repeated. Her mother sighed.

"It's bed time." she said, before lifting her out of the high chair. As soon as her chin rested on her mother's shoulder, she reached an arm out, and pointed to the bear on the floor.

"Claire!" she shouted. Her mother turned around, and saw what she was pointing at.

"Oh. Claire forgot her teddy bear." she said as she walked over to it. She picked it up, and then walked Serah down the hallway. When she reached her and Claire's room, she opened the door, and walked Serah over to her crib. She laid her down in the bed, and then bent over the railing, and kissed her on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, honey." she said. After that, she walked over to Claire, and laid her stuffed animal down next to her.

As soon as their mother left, Serah turned her head to look at her sister, who had reopened her eyes. The two stared at each other. But then, Serah smiled, and grabbed one of the bars. "Claire!" she shouted. Claire turned over, and ignored her sister.

"I hate you." Claire said to herself, before she fell asleep, as her sister continued to shake the bar of her crib.

"Claire, I lub you."


	10. Lightning's Memories, Part Three

"Claire." Serah said. Her mother sat before her, looking sadly at her.

"No, not Claire, honey, Serah."

"No, Claire, no! Swah!" Serah responded. "Swah!" her mother sighed. She turned around, and grabbed the pacifier she had laid on the table.

"Say, pacifier." she said, holding the object out to her daughter. Serah looked at her, and then pointed at the object in her mother's hands. "Yes, mommy knows that this is a pacifier. Now say it." Serah continued to stare at the object, and then opened her mouth to say something.

"Pa, paf…." she stopped, trying to sound out the words again. "Claire!" she shouted.

"Oh, Serah. You can't grow up only saying your sister's name."

"I lub you." Serah said. "I lub you, I lub you." she repeated. Her mother smiled, and then handed the pacifier to her. She took the pacifier, and stuck it in her mouth.

"Mommy loves you too, Serry." she said, as she reached forward. She wrapped her arms around her, and lifted her baby out of the high chair. "Claire! Sweetie, we have to go!" she shouted. Today was the day she had been dreading. They were going to go to the doctor's office to get Claire and Serah their shots. "Claire, come on!" she shouted. A few moments passed, with no Claire.

"Where is that girl?" she wondered aloud. She carried Serah down the hallway, and then went in the girl's room, but couldn't see where her daughter was at. "Claire? Where are you, baby?" she asked. She moved around the room, scanning around for where the little one may have been. Serah removed her pacifier, some of her saliva dripping off of where she had sucked.

"Claire!" Serah shouted. "Claire, Claire, Claire!" she chanted sing-song like.

"Claire, come out." her mother said. It was then that she noticed a pair of beady little eyes, looking at her through one of the holes in the closet door. "Claire, I know you don't like going to the doctor," she started to say, as she approached the door. "But you have to get these shots. Both you and Serry." she said as she reached the door.

She grabbed the knob with her free hand, and then slowly turned it. Then, she flung the door open, and Claire tried to run past her. But the woman was quick, flinging her arm out in front of the girl. Her arm wrapped around her front, and she lifted her up off of the ground. She screamed as loud as her little lungs would allow her.

"No, mommy, no!" Claire screamed, swinging her limbs all around in an attempt to get out of her mother's hold.

"Claire, calm yourself down!" she exclaimed. Immediately, she realized that there was no way to get both of her girls down to the car at once. With both arms full of little Farrons, she couldn't open the door. It didn't help that Claire was going insane in her arms.

"Claire!" Serah shouted, reaching out for her older sister. "Claire, Claire! No! Claire!" she shouted, trying to grab her sister's arm.

"No!" Claire shouted. She had started to cry, trying to get her mother to feel bad. "Mommy, I don't like needles!"

"No one does, sweetie, but you have to get these!" she explained. She carried her daughters over to the door, and then reached for the doorknob, making sure that Serah stayed on her arm. She twisted the knob, and then bumped the door with her side so it would open further. When she got outside, she kicked the door back, and then descended the steps to get to her car.

When she finally got down to the car, she found herself in another predicament. She had to get her keys out, and open the car door. So, she sat Serah down on the ground, and then reached into her pocket for the keys.

"Claire!" Serah shouted, pointing up at her big sister. Her mother opened the back door, and then placed Claire in the back seat. Before the little girl could do anything, her mother locked the child lock, and then slammed the door shut. Then, she picked Serah up, carried her to the other side of the car, and then opened the door opposite where she had put Claire. Then, she placed Serah in the car seat, and buckled her in.

Their mother closed the door, and then got up front. "Claire, honey, buckle your seatbelt.

"Claire!" Serah shouted, reaching over to her sister. Claire reached up, and grabbed the seatbelt. After she had fastened herself in, she crossed her arms, and stared straight ahead with an angered face. Serah put her pacifier in her mouth, and then looked over at her sister.

"Aren't you too old to have a binki?" Claire asked. Serah stared at her sister, and then smiled happily. She pulled the pacifier out of her mouth, and pointed it at Claire.

"Claire!" she shouted. She went as far as the car seat would let her, and stuck her pacifier into Claire's mouth. Claire spit the object out of her mouth, and then let out several disgusted sounds.

"Baby germs, yuck!" she exclaimed. Serah laughed at her sister's dismay, along with her mother.

When they finally reached the doctor's office, their mother got out of the car, and then opened the door Claire was sitting next to. She undid her seat belt, and tried to get away from her mother, like she was trying to hurt her.

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Claire, I don't have time for it." she said, wrapping her arms around her. She squirmed, and tried to swat her mother's arms away. But within just a few seconds, she was lifted out of the car, and held up by one of her mother's arms. After she had a good hold on Claire in her arm, she reached forward, and undid Serah's car seat, and then lifted the baby out of the car.

She carried her daughters into the doctor's office, and then went up to the person at the front desk.

"We had an appointment." she told the person. "Serah and Claire Farron?" the receptionist held out a clipboard to their mother, which had a piece of paper held on it.

"Just sign their names here." she said.

"Okay, hold on just for a moment." she lowered down, and sat Claire and Serah on the floor. Before Claire could do anything, her mother grabbed her wrist and gave her a threatening look. "Do not move from this spot." she ordered. She stood back up, and then signed the sheet of paper.

A few moments later, the doctor called them in, and she carried Serah in, while she had to practically drag Claire. The door was closed behind them, causing Claire to frown. So much for her escape plan.

"Alright, Claire, you're up first." the doctor said. The little girl wrapped her arms around her mother's waist, and buried her face in her side.

"No, mommy, please!" she cried.

"Claire, he just wants to take your temperature right now." she explained, as she pat her daughter on the back.

"But he'll stick the needle in me!" she shouted, her cries being muffled out.

"Claire, just get it over with. It'll be less painful, I promise." her mother assured her. Claire was so scared that she was trembling, her mother could feel it. "Just let him take your temperature." she said. Claire turned her head, and looked at the doctor. He was holding a thermometer in his hand, but no needle. Yet.

She opened her mouth slightly, and he stuck the thermometer under her tongue. Then, he wrapped a black strap around her arm.

The strap tightened around her arm, visibly scaring her. "It's alright, sweetie, it's just taking your blood pressure." she explained. A few moments later, he removed the strap, and took the thermometer out of her mouth.

"Alright, now to take a look at your ears." he said. He took out a black object, and put a white cap on it, and then inserted it in her right ear, and held it there until a beeping noise was heard. Then, he did the same with the other. "Everything looks healthy." he said.

Then, he took the needle out, and she cowered behind the chair her mother sat in. Her mother reached back, and pulled her out. "No!" she cried.

"Claire, just get it all over and done with." she said, holding her daughter's arm. Instead of fighting back, she looked away, and closed her eyes. She felt something wet on her arm, and then waited. "Good girl." her mother said. She looked at her arm just as the doctor put one of those round bandages where she had felt the wetness.

"Alright, and now for the little one." he said. He gave her the same treatment when it came to the temperature, only she was a lot calmer in taking it. But when he took the needle out, she freaked out just as her sister had.

"No!" Serah shouted. "No! No! No!" she repeated, hugging her mother.

"Serah, you saw how painless it was for Claire." she said.

"Claire!" she shouted.

"Come on, baby, do it for your big sister." her mother said. Her mother knew her weakness. But even then, she was still scared when the doctor approached her. "Look at Claire, sweetie."

"Claire." Serah said. She reached toward her sister with one arm, while the doctor moved a cotton ball around on her arm, and then injected her with the medicine.

"There we go." her mother said. The doctor then put the same bandage on her arm, and then threw the needles away.

"Alright, Ms. Farron, if either of them get a fever, just give them some of the medicine you have been giving them, and they should be alright."

"Okay. Come on, girls." she said. She stood up, and Claire grabbed onto her hand. When they got outside, Claire climbed into the back seat, and their mother buckled Serah in her car seat. On the drive home, Serah pointed down at the ground.

"Claire." she said. Claire looked where she was pointing, and then she saw her pacifier. Claire undid her seatbelt, and got off of her seat, and then picked up the pacifier. Then, she got back in her seat, and Serah reached for the pacifier, grunting as she did.

Instead of handing the pacifier over, Claire stuck it in her mouth, and turned her head away.

"No!" Serah shouted. "No, Claire, no!" she cried. Her mother glanced back, and then sighed.


	11. Lightning's Memories, Part Four

Woah! 25 Reviews! Thank you guys! I'm glad you like this story guys, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. The first paragraph may seem off topic, but it'll make sense later on.  
I know it's weird, right? I'm talking! I just wanted to thank you guys for all of the reviews, and the rest of you for reading it.

Oh, and thanks to the guys at GameSpot and GameFaqs for reading this, too!

* * *

Weaning a baby was a hard task to do, especially at an older age. The bottle she was feeding Serah with was the same one that Claire had used until she was two years old. Though, Claire was not weaned off, she was just taken off in one quick instant. She remembered how Claire would cry when she saw her mother feeding Serah with it, and how she had tried to steal it from Serah more than once.

While her mother sat in the chair and fed Serah, Claire watched from afar, angry at the little baby once again. She walked into the room, still wearing the pajamas she had put on when she went to bed.

"Mommy." she said. Her mother said nothing in reply. She was still staring down at her child that sat on her lap. "Mommy." she repeated. Still nothing. She walked over to her mother, and tugged on her pants. "Mommy." she said a third time. Her mother sighed.

"What is it, Claire?" she asked. Her eyes hurt from being open for so long.

"I can't sleep." she lied. She was actually rather tired, but she wanted to spend some time with her mother, and had hoped that the baby was still asleep so it could just be the two of them. Her mother sighed again, and then pat the free space on her lap.

Claire delightfully accepted the invitation. She climbed up on her mother's lap, and then laid her head down on her mother's chest. The baby stared at her past the bottle. Claire looked at her angrily, a look that told Serah she didn't like her.

But as usual, the looks failed. Serah reached a hand out, and tried to grab Claire's hand, but the girl jerked it away as soon as her little sister touched it. Her mother stroked her hand through her pink head of hair, as she hummed a gentle tune.

Within minutes, she was asleep.

A few moments later, Serah was finished drinking from the bottle. As soon as her mother pulled the bottle away, she went forward, and wrapped her arms around her older sister. "Claire." she said. She hugged her tight, not wanting to let go as usual.

"Serah, leave your sister alone, let her rest." she said, tugging on the back of her shirt.

"Claire." Serah repeated.

"Sweetie, please move." her mother said. But the baby just stayed attached to her sister.

"I lub you." she said. "I lub you, Claire." her mother sighed.

"Fine, you can stay there, just don't bother your sister."

"Claire." Serah said again. "Claire! Claire!" she shouted.

"Shh." her mother hushed. "Go to sleep, Serah." she ordered. She laid her head back on the chair, and closed her eyes, listening to see if her child would talk again.

Halfway through the night, she was awakened by one of her daughters screaming. Her eyes shot open, and she looked down, just in time to see Claire raise up and push Serah off of her. Serah fell back, and her head hit the arm of the chair with a loud thud. Her eyes started to water, and then she started to cry. Their mother's mouth gaped open at the crying child, who hadn't moved from where she had hit her head.

She looked over to Claire, who was wiping her hand over a wet spot on her pajama top, probably from where Serah had drooled on her. Her mother's eyes filled with anger, and then she grabbed Claire's tiny wrist.

"Don't you ever, _ever _push your little sister again!" she exclaimed. Claire looked up at her mother's enraged expression. Her own eyes wore an expression of fear.

"Mommy, your hurting me." she said.

"Do you hear me!" she questioned.

"M-Mommy it-"

"Do you hear me!" she repeated. Claire nodded her head. Her mother let go of her wrist, and then turned to look at Serah. She grabbed her, and moved her hand around her head, feeling for any bumps. "It's alright, sweetheart." she said. "You're going to be alright."

"Mommy, I-"

"Claire, don't speak now." she said. "You could have seriously hurt your baby sister. Maybe even caused her to die." she said. She grabbed her younger daughter, and kissed her on the top of her head. "Maybe you should go to your room, Claire." Claire got off of her mother's lap, and then started to walk toward the doorway.

But then, an idea hatched in her head. As she walked toward the doorway, she purposely tripped herself. She fell face forward, her forehead smacking into the hard floor. She let out a loud cry of pain, _real _pain. She had purposely hurt herself to get her mother's attention.

Her mother looked over to her, and then leapt up from her seat, holding Serah as she continued to cry. "Claire, are you alright?" she asked. Claire had started to cry along with her sister, from her self inflicted pain. Her mother approached her, and turned her over, gasping at what she saw. There was a huge bloody mark on her daughter's forehead.

"Mommy, it hurt!" she cried. Her mother looked distraught, her eyes filled with worried. She reached a hand down, and moved a few strands of Claire's hair out of her wound.

"Calm down, honey. Did you hurt anything else?" her mother asked, almost having to shout over the cries filling the house. Claire shook her head from side to side, covering the cut with her tiny hands. Her mother slid her free arm under Claire's small body, and then lifted her up from the ground. Then she carried both of her daughter's to the bathroom, and then sat Claire down on the sink.

She turned the water on, and then wetted down a wash cloth. "Hold still for just a moment." she said, as she wiped the bloody mark with the cloth. When she washed off all of the blood, there was only a little bit coming out of the cut on her head. "It's nothing that serious, honey, just a small cut." she said.

After her mother discovered it was just a minor wound, she placed a bandage over it. But, the two of them were still crying, though Claire had calmed down a little bit. Her mother picked her up again, and then quickly carried both of them into the bedroom.

When her mother tried to put her down in her bed, Claire didn't let go. "No, mommy, I want to stay with you!" she cried, as her little hands gripped her mother's shoulder.

"I'll just be over by Serah's crib, Claire, I promise." she assured her, as she tried to removed her daughter's hands from her shoulder without hurting her.

"No!" she exclaimed. Her mother groaned.

"Please, let go." she said. Her daughter's only reply was the shaking of her head. She groaned again, and then raised back up. "Sweetie, I know you hurt, but I need to-"

"No!" she screamed. "No, I don't want you to leave me alone!"

"I need a free hand for what I'm about to do!" her mother shouted. The two crying girls were driving her to near insanity. She sighed, and then carried Serah over to her crib and placed her on the mattress as gently as she could.

Then, she went to get Serah's bottle, sterilized it, and then prepared the formula for her daughter, holding Claire the whole time. Though Serah could eat solid foods by this time, her mother still fed her with the bottle on occasion, usually in situations where she needed to calm her down. Though even if she did calm Serah down, she still had to calm her oldest child down, who, despite holding onto her mother, and having treatment to her wound, was still crying.

When she went into her daughter's room, she tried to lay Claire down on her bed, but once again found her clinging onto her. "Claire, I promise, I'll sit by your bed the whole time, just let go."

"No!" she shouted.

"Please, let go!" she shouted. She grabbed her daughter's arm, pulled it away from her shoulder, and then did the same with the other. Her daughter screamed, as she went over to Serah's crib. She picked Serah up, and then went back over to Claire's bed, and sat at the edge. She felt her daughter wrap her arms around her side, and then she started to feed Serah.

But Serah turned her head and then spit the formula out. She tried feeding her again, but got the same response from her. She placed the bottle off to the side, and then held her close, and tried to calm her with gentle hums and occasional kisses. For what seemed like hours, the magenta haired mother sat, holding the baby until it finally stopped crying.

When the room was finally quiet, she let out a sigh of relief, and held her slumbering child. But then she realized that earlier, her other had been crying, too. But it was dead silent in the room, and she couldn't feel Claire's little arms on her. She raised up out of the bed, and spun around to look down at what she feared may lay in the bed.

But what she saw was not something of a parent's nightmares.

There Claire was, laying in her bed, holding onto the bottle that used to belong to her. Her eyes were half closed, and her lips were still around the top of the bottle, which had been half drained of it's contents. Her mother's heart beat decreased, and she approached her daughter. She reached out for the bottle, but her daughter backed away, her eyes open to full awareness.

"Sweetie, I need that back."

"No." her daughter said weakly. "It's mine."

Her mother sighed. "Oh, Claire." she sat down in the bed next to her daughter, and then placed her arm underneath her. Claire put one arm over her mother's leg, and rested her head on her lap. But, she hadn't quite let her guard down yet. She held her bottle closer to her chest, keeping her whole arm over it.

Their mother sat there the whole night, holding Serah in one arm, and one arm underneath her oldest daughter. When morning finally came, Claire turned on her side, leaving the bottle where she had originally had it. She got up from the bed, and then placed Serah in the crib. She went back over to Claire, and made sure she was covered up good enough by the blanket.

Then, she gave each of them a gentle kiss on the cheek, and left their room to go sleep in her own bed. A few hours later, Serah woke up, and rubbed her tired eyes. The back of her head no longer hurt, and she had forgotten all about the pain she had felt. She looked over at her big sister, just in time to see her roll over.

When she saw her big sister, she smiled, and reached a hand out through the bars. "Claire!" she called out. "Claire, Claire!" her sister made an angry face at her, and grabbed the bottle next to her, and then started to drink from it. Serah giggled at her sister, causing her to become even angrier. She swallowed what was in her mouth, and then stuck her tongue out at her sister.

But nothing could make Serah angry at her big sister. She giggled even louder, her smile growing wider. Claire raised the bottle up, and then threw it at her sister's crib, but it didn't even make contact with the bed. It hit the floor once, and then rolled slightly.

"Claire!" she shouted. "I lub you!"

"But I hate you, Serah!" Claire exclaimed. "I wish mommy lost you at the hopital!" she added on. Claire was just so angry at her sister. Ever since the day her mother had brought her home, she had been focused solely on her. She hadn't even hugged Claire since Serah came home.

"Claire!" her sister shouted, clueless to her sister's hatred for her.

"Stop saying my name!" Claire ordered.

"No!" Serah responded.

"I hate you! I hope mommy throws you away!"

Meanwhile, their mother had just woken up from a not so sound sleep, though, she hadn't had a sound sleep since she brought Claire home. With her kids always needing something, she had to be alert, even in her rest. She got out of bed, and walked to the kids room, deciding that it wasn't an emergency when she neared the open door, and heard Serah laughing. She continued on into the room though, if only so she could check on them.

When she reached the doorway, she saw her daughter laying in the crib, smiling at her older sister, who still laid under the sheets, only in a different position than when her mother left her. The bottle in the middle of the floor caught her eye, however.

"Claire," she groaned. "How did the bottle get in the middle of the floor?" she asked as she approached the object in the middle of the floor. She picked the bottle up, and then looked at her daughter with a look that scared the five year old, despite the fact that the woman wasn't entirely awake. Claire extended her arm, and pointed her index finger at the girl in the crib.

She shook her head, and then looked back over at Claire. "Okay, how did the baby get the bottle from you?"

Claire shrugged.

Her mother chuckled. "Alright, so the baby did it?" she asked. Claire nodded. "But you don't know how she got the bottle from you?" Claire shook her head. She chuckled again, as her daughter gave her that innocent look all children try to give their parents. She turned around, and looked straight at Serah.

"Serah, who did it?"

"Swah!" she shouted. Their mother sighed, and then walked out of the bedroom.

"Fine, the baby did it. Bad baby!" she said, as she exited the room. Claire looked over at her sister, with angry eyes that hadn't been soothed yet.

"I still don't like you." she said, before turning over to ignore her baby sister once again. "Dumb Baby-Serah!"

"Dumb bay-ee Swah!" Serah exclaimed. "I lub you, Claire Fwon!" she shouted. "Swah Fwon!"

"Stupid baby." Claire mumbled to herself, as she drifted off.

"Swah lubs you, Claire!" she shouted. But her sister paid no attention to her, wanting that little thing to shut up for once. She wouldn't have hated the thing so much, she might have even loved it if her mother still paid attention to her. If her mother still loved her.

If her mother still cared.


	12. Lightning's Memories, Part Five

Serah sat in her high chair, alone in the kitchen as she awaited her mother's return. Serah hated the high chair, for it kept her from moving around, and it also kept her from rushing to her favorite person when she came into the room, though that didn't pose a problem, since Claire hadn't come in there all day. In fact, she hadn't seen Claire since the previous night, when she had been tucked in. She remember looking over at her big sister, and calling out her name, with no response.

Meanwhile, in Claire's room, their mother was crying, trying to keep the sobs quiet so that her other daughter couldn't hear her. Claire laid in her bed, covered in sweat, and breathing hard. Despite her illness, she was happy on the inside. For the first time in almost four years, her mother's attention was focused solely on her. Though, both wished it were under better circumstances.

The illness wasn't too serious, though the doctor had advised the mother keep close watch over her daughter. But, she was a mother, and one of her babies was sick, so naturally, she'd be worried. Thankfully, though, her other daughter was still healthy, and showed no signs of getting sick. The last thing she needed was for both of them to be as sick as Claire was.

A beeping noise rang throughout the room, causing her mother to stand up from where she was sitting in the bed. "I have to go get your medicine." she said, her voice choked by her closed throat. She walked out of the room, and then down the hall into the kitchen. Serah looked back at her, but she hid her eyes before her daughter could see her.

She went over to the medicine cabinet, her daughter's eyes following her. She opened the cabinet, and then searched for the medicine the doctor had prescribed Claire. When she did finally find it, she pulled the bottle out, and then got a spoon from nearby. She turned around, unable to hide her eyes, and walked to the hallway as fast as she could, so her daughter couldn't see her eyes.

She sat down next to her daughter, and then poured some of the liquid into the spoon. "Open up, Claire." she said. Claire looked at her mother with weak, half opened eyes, and then slowly shook her head. "I know it hurts to swallow, honey, but you need to take this if you want to get better." she explained to her daughter. Claire sat up, groaning as she did. The look she gave her mother almost made her heat sink. She looked so….. Beaten.

As soon as the medicine was in Claire's mouth, she made a disgusted look. "Come on, Claire, swallow it." her mother said. "Please, honey, swallow it." she begged. Claire's look got worse, as the liquid stayed in her mouth, the bitterness leaving a sort of imprint. She swallowed hard, the medicine burning as it slid down her throat. She whimpered as soon as it was all gone.

"Hurts." she said, her voice deepened by the soreness in her throat.

"Oh, I know honey. Just lay back down, and get some rest." she said as she laid the spoon and the medicine on the nearby nightstand. Claire laid down on the bed, and pulled the covers up under her chin. "If you need anything, anything at all, I'll be right here. I won't leave your side, I promise." she assured. Claire mumbled something, no louder than a whisper. "Excuse me?" her mother said, lowering her head down closer.

"What about the baby?" Claire repeated. Her mother sighed, and then looked at the doorway. She had almost completely forgotten about Serah. She looked back down at her daughter, and then to the doorway again.

"I'll be right back." she said. She grabbed the medicine bottle and the spoon, and then went into the kitchen, where she put them in their proper place. Then, she lifted Serah out of her high chair, and walked her to the room. Once she entered the doorway, she saw Claire had closed her eyes.

"Claire!" Serah shouted. "Claire! Claire!"

"Sh, sh, no!" she said with a hushed voice. "Claire needs her rest, so you need to be quiet, okay?" Serah nodded. Serah smiled, and then pointed at her older sister.

"Claire." she whispered.

"Yes, that's your big sister." she said. She started to walk Serah over to her crib, making sure not to wake Claire. "Just lay down honey, and go to sleep." she said as she laid Serah into the crib. "Or at least be quiet for awhile, alright?"

Serah smiled as she nodded her head, and then put her finger up to her lips. "Sssss." she said, showing her mother that she understood what she had been told. Her mother smiled, and then went back over to Claire.

Things in the room were calm for a few hours. Serah hadn't fallen asleep in that time, though she had been drifting off several times. But then the silence ended, when Claire awoke from her sleep in a loud coughing fit. Each of the coughs burned her throat, and her mouth became filled with saliva, for she couldn't swallow it.

"Claire, are you-" her mother started, but before she could finish, Claire leaned over the side of the bed, and vomited. The heavy liquid hit the ground with loud splashing noises, which made her mother turn pale, not because of the amount of liquid, but because of the color. The color of the girl's vomit was just one color, dark red.

Before her mother could do anything else, her retching noises were heard again, followed by a large amount of red liquid. Her mother picked her up from her bed, and then rushed out of the room. She had to get to a phone, so she could call their doctor and ask him what she could do. As she rushed out of the room, Serah reached one of her arms out of her crib, reaching for her big sister.

"Claire!" she cried. As soon as her mother and sister were out of view, she fell back in the crib, and started to cry, as loud as she could. In the living room, their mother dialed the number as quick as she could, and waited for the doctor to pick up. As she waited, she felt her back become wet, as Claire vomited once again. But she didn't care. She needed to talk to a doctor, quick.

When the phone was finally answered, she explained her situation as calmly as she could. A few moments later, the doctor was put on. "Doctor?" she said as soon as he was on. "Doctor, please help me! What do I do? Claire just started throwing up, and there was a lot of blood in it!" she said frantically. Mid way through her sentence, she heard her daughter retch again, and then felt more wetness cover her back. "Yes, I've already given her the medicine!" she exclaimed. Claire let out a cry of pain, which only made her throat burn more.

When she hung the phone up, she fell down on the chair, and started to cry again. "Claire, I'm sorry, you've got to suffer through this."

In the other room, Serah was still crying. Unlike her mother, she believed that the sickness was deadly. She thought that she was going to lose her big sister. Though Serah didn't completely understand the concept of death, she knew that it caused somebody to leave forever. And she wanted Claire to be there with her, forever and ever.

Serah didn't see her mother for the rest of the night, nor did she see her sister. Her mother stayed in the living room the whole night, watching over her sleeping daughter like a hawk. A little past midnight, Claire awoke again, and made a few retching noises as if to throw up again, but she didn't. She couldn't

When the morning finally came, her mother carried her off to her room, where Serah had finally fallen asleep. She laid Claire on the mattress, and then sat down next to her. When Claire opened her eyes, her mother worried she was about to vomit again, but she didn't.

"Is your throat any better?" she asked. Claire nodded.

"Yes." she said. Her voice was no longer as hoarse, and it didn't sound as bad.

"Do you need anything?" she asked. "Maybe some water?" Claire nodded her head, and then turned away. Her mother got up, and then left the room. Claire looked over at the crib that held her still sleeping baby sister.

"This should've been you." she mumbled. However, as soon as she said it, she realized that this was actually just a blessing in disguise. Her mother hadn't even asked Serah anything, and actually forgot about her the previous night. She smiled. Maybe her mother was going to pay attention to her again. Maybe she would finally forget about the baby.

Claire closed her eyes, thinking of all the wonderful bonding time she and her mother would share after her sickness had blown over.

The next day, when Claire woke up, she was feeling much better. Every single bit of soreness had left her throat, and her voice was no longer deepened, back to it's original sweet tone. When she got out of bed, she ran down the hallway to greet her mother in the kitchen, and start the bonding time they would share without the baby.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw her mother hunched over slightly, spoon feeding Serah, who sat in her high chair. She rushed over to her mother, and grabbed her pant leg.

"Mommy!" she shouted, tugging at her pant leg. "Mommy, I-"

"Not now sweetie." her mother said as she placed a spoonful of food into Serah's mouth. The words struck little Claire's heart like a sharp dagger. She let go of her mother's pant leg, and slowly backed away, feeling her eyes already start to water.

Her predictions were wrong. Her mother still paid more attention to the baby than her. She still loved the stupid baby more than her.

Claire ran down the hall, crying as she went.


	13. Lightning's Memories, Part Six

"One, two, three….." Claire said aloud as she kept her head in the corner. "Four, Five." She stopped herself and looked back, seeing that Serah had disappeared from the living room, and that their mother was still asleep on the couch. "Nine, ten." she said, cheating on the count, and skipping ahead. "Ready or not, here I come!" she shouted, spinning around.

"Hm." her mother groaned, stirring slightly in her sleep. "Claire, don't be so loud." she said, not opening her eyes. Amazingly, her mother had not noticed that Serah had escaped from her arms. She must have been deep in, Claire thought. She quietly walked out of the living room, careful not to wake her mother up from her sleep. As soon as she got out of the living room, she rushed into her room, the only area that Serah had not become afraid of in the recent weeks.

For some reason, Serah had become afraid of the dark. To Serah, no room in the house was safe anymore, when it was dark. Not even her mother being there to hold her made her feel better about the dark. Not even Claire made the fear go away.

So Claire figured she would go to the only room in the house that always had it's lights turned on, something their mother made sure of. Though, she realized that, if Serah was hiding in their room, then the whole purpose of this game was destroyed. The area had almost nowhere to hide, and all of the areas that would make good hiding spots were dark, so Serah would definitely avoid them.

"Serah?" she called out, as soon as she walked into the room. "Serah?" she said again, walking further into the room. The first place she looked was under her bed, though all she found under there was a mess of dust bunnies, and a few stuffed animals that had been covered in dust since she had neglected to play with them.

She shot up, and looked around, hearing the giggling of her baby sister. Her eyes darted all over the room. Where else could she be?

But then, her eyes landed on one particular area in the room. The closet, which was cracked open slightly. Claire smiled and walked over to the door, slowly, quietly, so Serah wouldn't be able to hear her coming. When she reached the door, she pulled the door open even more, which revealed…

A pile of clothing. A confused expression appeared on Claire's face. She went into the closet, and started to pull the clothing out of the pile, thinking that maybe her baby sister was hidden beneath them. "Serah, where are you?" she called out. As soon as the words escaped her lips, she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around to see who had tapped on her shoulder, a small figure jumped at her, holding her arms out.

"Boo!" the baby shouted. Claire gasped, stumbling back into the closet. The baby giggled at her older sister, who sat staring at her, stunned. Serah smiled, and then approached her sister. Claire's eyes began to water, as the anger in her boiled to where she felt she was going to burst.

"Cl-" she started. But before she could finish saying the name of her favorite person, Claire screamed at the top of her lungs. Serah backed away, and fell down like her sister did, looking at her sister with shocked eyes. A few moments later, their mother came running into the room, eyes filled with worry.

Hearing her mother come in, she jumped out of the closet and ran toward her, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mommy, the baby scared me!" she cried, grabbing her mother's leg. "She scared me!" she shouted.

"What?" her mother said. "Claire, how could the baby scare you?" she asked. But Claire just continued to wail her head off. "Claire!" her mother shouted over her screams. She lowered herself down to her knees, and grabbed her daughter's shoulders. "Claire, you need to calm down, now!" she shouted as loud as she could. But Claire just continued to cry and scream. "What did the baby do?"

Claire stopped her screaming for just a few moments, though she still cried. "Serah snuck up on me, and scared me." she said, before resuming her screams. Her mother turned Claire around, and forced her to look at Serah, who looked back at them with her innocent eyes. The eyes that won their mother over every single time.

"Claire, look at her." she said, raising her voice so Claire could here her. "There is nothing-" but at that moment, something snapped in her mother. The screaming was too much for her now. She spun Claire around, and planted her hands on her shoulders as she had before. "Stop screaming, right now!" she exclaimed.

As soon as she realized what she had done, she regretted it. Claire and Serah were both looking at her with scared eyes. Claire sniffled, struggling to take in breath. Her fake tears had started to turn to real tears.

She picked Claire up, and then tucked her into bed, before doing the same with Serah, without kissing either good night or telling them that she loved them, as she usually did. On her way out, she turned the light off, and slammed the door shut. Although the light being off didn't pose an immediate problem, it did when the sun went down.

Claire laid in her bed the whole time, sobbing silently to herself, so her mother wouldn't be able to hear her, though that was the purpose of the door being closed. Meanwhile, their mother sat at the kitchen table, trying to calm herself down. "Calm down. Claire was just scared. Stay calm, stay calm." she told herself.

And as she did this, the room became darker, and Serah started to shake under the blankets. "Claire?" she called out. Her big sister looked back at her, eyes still burning from her tears.

"I hate you." she said. "I wish, I wish…" she started to shake with anger. "I wish you would die!"

"Claire!" Serah called. Even though the words aimed at her were those of hatred, she found comfort in her sister's voice. Something that Claire picked up on after a few more insults. So, she stopped talking, and calmed herself down so her breaths wouldn't be as deep. It became dead silent in the dark room.

"Claire!" she shouted. No response came. "Claire!" she shouted again. Nothing but silence. "Claire?" she said again, worry clear in her voice. She called out her sister's name several more times, each time hoping for her sister's response.

But no response ever came. She tried to at least see her sister through the darkness, but she couldn't make out anything but the bars on her crib. Her heartbeat increased when she heard footsteps approaching her crib. "Claire?" she said.

Silence.

All of a sudden, her crib shook, and she looked over to the other side, seeing a hand reach for her. "Boo!" a voice exclaimed.

She responded with a loud scream. She backed away, slamming her back into the bars opposite where the hand was. The hand withdrew itself, and then she heard footsteps, running. Her nightmare was not yet over. She felt something grab a handful of her hair, and pull on it. Something was trying to pull her through the bars.

"No!" she exclaimed through her tears, which had begun to form from a combination of fear and the pain of her hair being pulled. "Claire!" she cried, for help. "Claire!" the grip on her hair tightened, and it began to pull harder. She tried to fight back by moving her head forward, but the grip was too strong, and her head slammed back onto the bars.

A yellow light cut through the darkness, specifically shining on her crib. Then, the darkness disappeared in a flood of light, which blended in with the light that shined on her.

"Clarice Farron, get off of your sister!" she heard her mother exclaim. She heard footsteps running over to her crib, and then heard her sister shouting. The grip on her hair was released, and she continued to cry, but it was drown out by her sister shouting.

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"Claire, I've had enough of your acting up!" she shouted. Serah rubbed the back of her head, feeling the area where it hurt most. As she did this, she heard the bed springs of her sister's bed.

"Mommy, please, don't!" she cried. "No, mommy, please!" she pleaded. A loud noise was heard, a noise that sounded like a hand smacking into something. Her sister let out a loud cry of pain, and then started to cry as she was hit again. Serah turned over, and saw her sister bent over their mother's knee. She saw he just in time to see their mother smack her behind again.

"No!" Serah cried. "No!" she repeated. Her mother continued to hit her daughter, though, so Serah just closed her eyes, and threw the cover over her head. A few minutes later, her mother stopped hitting Claire, and then she was lifted out of her crib.

"Are you okay sweetie?" her mother asked.

"Claire!" Serah cried, reaching for her sister. Claire shot up from her bed.

"I hate you!" she shouted.

"Lay down and be quiet!" their mother shouted, pointing at Claire. Claire complied, laying back down in the bed, eyes full of fear, and hatred.

"I lub you, Claire!" Serah said through her tears, reaching for her big sister.

"I ha-"

"Claire!" her mother exclaimed. Their mother left the room before anything else could be said, afraid of doing something else to hurt her child. As soon as she got in the kitchen, she sat Serah down in the high chair, and then sat down at the kitchen table. She sat there the whole night, listening to her oldest child's cries.

When her crying finally stopped, their mother got up, and carried Serah back into the bedroom. Claire had fallen asleep by that point, so her mother felt it was okay to lay Serah in her crib. She kissed Serah on the forehead, and then laid her in the crib. "I love you, Serah." she kissed her again. "So much." she whispered. She started out of the room, but stopped to brush a few strands of hair out of Claire's eyes, and then kissed her on the forehead.

She left without another word.

"I lub you, Claire." Serah said. "Sowy." she added on.

"I'm not." Claire replied.


	14. Where's My Knife?

No, the flash back chapters aren't over. But I want to post the last flash back later on, so it'll make more sense.

So, enjoy the chapter. Also, this is sort of a time skip, which, of course, will be explained in the next chapter.

* * *

The beaten boy fell down to the ground. She gave another hard kick to his side. Even in the pitch black darkness, he could see the anger in her eyes. Even more, he could feel it surge through him as she delivered another kick, this time on the side of his head. She pulled him up off of the ground by his collar, and held him to where they were eye to eye.

"Where did you put it!" she exclaimed. The boy was breathing hard, and one of his eyes was swollen shut from when she had ambushed him.

"I don't know," he stopped, breathing heavily. "What you're talking about." her eyes flared up again, and she pulled him to his feet, and then slammed him into the brick wall.

"I know it was you who stole my knife, now tell me what the fuck you did with it!" she exclaimed. Loose strands of hair had fallen down in her vision, but she didn't bother to straighten them back up.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. She slammed him into the wall again, causing more strands to come loose.

"Don't fucking lie to me!" she shouted. "Tell me, or else I'll fucking kill you!" she shouted, right in his face. He had started to cry by this point.

"I didn't steal, anything." he said through his tears. She slammed her knee into his side, and then slammed one of her fists into his jaw.

"Tell me." she said. "Now!" she exclaimed through sealed teeth. But he continued to cry. Simple as that. She spun around, and flung him toward the trashcans opposite where they had stood. She rushed over to him before he could do anything, and then knelt down before him.

"I, I-"

"Don't, Fuck with me!" she shouted, reaching back, and pulling out her gun blade.

"Alright, alright." he said. "I stole your knife." the young boy falsely admitted. He had to tell her that. He'd have told her anything to stop this God awful torture.

"_Bingo." _she thought. Lightning reached her hand down in her pouch, and clicked a button on a certain device.

"What?" she repeated, in a tone that sounded hurt.

"I said," he looked straight at her. "I stole your fucking knife!" he shouted. "You fucking bitch!" he added on. She clicked another button on the device, as an evil grin spread across her face. That was all she needed. Lightning grabbed Maqui's shirt collar, and lifted him up off of the ground again. She pushed him down the alley way, and then lifted her gun blade up.

Before the beaten and bruised boy could do anything, she rushed at him, and slammed her weapon into his chest. The blade pushed all the way through his back, breaking several of his ribs, and piercing through the flesh on the other side.

Blood began to ooze from his mouth, which eventually fell on top of her blade. They stood there like that for a few moments, both too shocked to move. And then, she pulled the trigger, which made a light fill the alley way for a brief second.

The boy flew off of her blade, as blood from a large, newly formed hole in his stomach spray at his killer. She laughed at the corpse, which had landed in a way that it was sitting against the stone wall. It's head was looking down, as more blood oozed from it's mouth, like a waterfall.

She turned around, and walked down the alleyway. She had all she needed to save her little sister, now. She had all she needed, to be free. All she needed, to curve her urges.

Or at least, she hoped they had been curved.


	15. The Investigation is Closed

When Serah finally got to come home, Lightning was overjoyed. She wanted to see her baby sister, and she wanted to see if the urges had been successfully curved. By that time, Lightning had accepted the fact that her urge to kill would never leave her permanently. But that didn't matter. What mattered to her was whether or not the urge to take her sister's life had been curved.

There was a knock at her door, and she got up to go answer it. She felt excited, but also worried at the same time. What if all of the killing had been for nothing? Or worse, what if she was found out, and had to be sent to prison for the rest of her life?

Little did Lightning know, that worry was about to be put to rest. When she opened the door, instead of seeing her baby sister, she saw an older looking man, wearing a light brown suit. The man had black hair, which had a few gray hairs in it, and a well kept mustache. At first, she didn't recognize the man, and almost slammed the door in his face, but quickly realize who he was.

"Ms. Farron?" the man said.

"Yes?" Lightning responded, her heart racing. She prepared herself to run, if she had to. She wasn't going to go to prison. Not before seeing her sister.

"I'd just like to let you know, we've closed the investigation on the murder of Snow Villiers. We'd like to thank you for giving us that case breaking evidence, and for taking care of the murderer."

Lightning let out a sigh of relief, which gained her an odd look from the man. When she noticed his look, she straightened up, and cleared her throat. "So, I'm not a suspect anymore?"

The man nodded. "That's right, miss. We're sorry for the inconvenience. We're going to let you slide on killing the boy, only because you helped solve the case."

"Thank you, detective." she said, truly relieved that the investigation was over. That worry was gone for her. She shook the detectives hand, and then closed the door. _"From now on," _she thought. _"I'll leave no evidence behind."_

The thought of killing had yet to leave her. From that point on, if she did kill someone else, she was going to plan it out better. She had already planned her next victim, if the time came. She knew where she was going to kill them, how she was going to do it, and how she was going to dispose of the body. If it was done right, there would be no investigation, or at least not one that could trace back to her.

Before she could sit down, there was another knock at the door. She walked back to the door, and opened it. Standing in the doorway, was her sister, who had a wide smile on her face.

* * *

Sorry for the long wait for the update, people. Sorry for it being so short, too. I just figured I'd post this so I could let you guys know I'm not dead, and neither is this story. I never give up on a good story. Never.

Hopefully I can update it sooner. Writer's block has been plaguing me lately. This chapter only managed to materialize from boredom. Boredom is the best inspiration I've ever had. But this chapter might be lacking, so, sorry for that. I might rewrite it in the future, but I don't usually do that. Seems wrong to tamper with past works. That's why that "before she could finish her door" mistake in chapter 2 hasn't been fixed yet. Haha.

Well, hope you enjoyed it.


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